49 15th October
Helen took a large gulp of her chilled white wine and finally put pen to paper. She’d rehearsed almost every word, over and over in her head ever since she’d left Jack. Left him again.
No, she mustn’t think that. She didn’t leave him; he forced her away. Forced her again.
She knew she needed to keep a level head. She’d learnt plenty of coping strategies, which were fine for the usual daily stresses and trivialities of life, but how was anybody in their right mind meant to cope with this, let alone their wrong mind?
She couldn’t risk letting her feelings run away with her, but this letter needed writing. She had to tell him what was what. Calm, unemotional, matter of fact.
Dear Jack,
I’m writing to tell you that I’ve left the country again. I thought things might have
